


Warm a Heart

by smilesuta



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Laith, M/M, canonverse, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 11:39:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14893931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smilesuta/pseuds/smilesuta
Summary: Death is not an easy thing to cope with. Sometimes you just need a person to help you out.





	Warm a Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I had a dream about watching this episode a long time ago, and decide to write it up. (I think it's because of season 6 vibes...) Please enjoy this story!

"Keith, come on, we have to go!" Lance yells from his spot in the hot volcano. The ceiling was currently crumbling above him, causing him to use his jetpack to dodge the huge boulders left and right. The other paladins had already left the treacherous place, still mourning over the lost of their beloved leader. They had managed to get out unscathed, but Keith hadn't move an inch since he saw Shiro plummet into the depths of the lava. His eyes were wild, filled with a large amount of angriness, shock and worst of all-- melancholy.

The red paladin never realized how fast a person could be ripped away from his life like that. Well, he did understand, he just couldn't remember how much it hurt. Seeing Shiro like that, hearing his scream disappear as he fell into the lava -- it was heartbreaking. There wasn't anything Keith could've done to help him. Shiro acted like the stereotype the team thinks he is: kind, noble, and sacrificial.

Meanwhile, Lance was completely frightened. The lava escalated higher to the point he couldn't touch the hard lava grounds anymore, and the exit the other paladins used to escape was slowly transforming into a dead end. More heated lava started to surround the red paladin, but Keith still refused to move. Lance is a few yards away from Keith, so he's not sure he can reach him with bubbling lava filling the space between them. Suddenly, a stone cracks from above the red paladin's head, slowly breaking from the rest of the of the remaining ceiling. Keith is frozen in place, tears streaming down his face. If Shiro died here, then I will too.

Lance could no longer stand the monstrosity. Using the some of the fuel left in his jetpack, he flies over Keith. The remaining piece of earth that Keith is standing on has been nearly encased by the lava.The blue paladin floats in the air, the lava bubbling beneath him. Keith's gaze is fixated on the lava below him, his face wet with tears. "Keith, let's go." Lance says firmly, his eyes never leaving the dark-violet eyes before him.

"No."

"Why?! There is nothing left here. I know you miss Shiro, we all do. We can mourn about him when we get back to the castle, and--"

"NO! Shiro was my only family! If he doesn't get to see the rest of his life, then I don't either." Keith's eyes close, as if he is ready to the fate that awaits him.

"Keith... Keith, look at me. Voltron is your family. Coran is family. Allura is family, Pidge and Hunk is too," Lance grabs Keith's gloved hand places it on his helmet, "I am your family. We will get through this together, okay?"

Before Keith could respond, the piece of rock overhead slams down onto him, missing Lance by a hair. Lance's curling scream echoes throughout volcano, as Keith consciousness fades. The boulder only landed on his arm, but the pressure caused him to blackout.

Lance felt his instincts take over, frantically trying to dislodge Keith's arm from underneath the rock. He stoops lower to the ground, accidentally burning his right foot, for which he grunts about in pain. Using his upper body strength, he pushes the rock into the lava, and pulls Keith onto his back. The red paladin is surprisingly light for Lance to carry, but at the moment he's too focused to get Keith and himself out of the volcano to give even the slightest crap.

He hooks his arms around Keith's legs, speeds out of the volcano, yelling into his comm set, "Coran, fire up a healing pod NOW!"

◈►

Lance sits on the steps of the infirmary, looking concerned at the red paladin. He had been inside for over two quintants now, and Lance was starting to get anxious. After getting Keith into the healing pod, Coran had explained to him, and the rest of the team, that Keith fractured his lower arm, broke two of his ribs and got a concussion. There was no telling when he would come out. Lance had almost died before -- not a fun time -- and he was only inside for a day. How long would this last?

For the past two quintants, Lance had barely eaten. He spent most of his time in the healing pod room, since Allura thought it would be best to not try to free any Galra-enslaved planets at the moment (which is common sense, just saying). Hunk always came by and offered a hot-steaming plate of food goo, but Lance thanked him and said he wasn't hungry.

Also during those 40 vargas, Lance talked to Keith about Shiro. He told him how much he loved being around the deceased leader, how his jokes and puns were really just ways to attempt to cheer Shiro up, since his PTSD had taken a toll on him when he escaped from the Galra. But the most thing that mattered to Lance, and probably matters to you as well, was about how much he missed Keith.

It was as if in a varga, every single feeling Lance felt of Keith was poured out and dispersed into the atmosphere. All of them-- admiration, happiness, confusion, depression, anger and love. It wasn't like he could hear him, and Lance needed to let go of everything that had building up since he met Keith at the Garrison.

_"Do you think there's be any cute girls in our class, Hunk?" Lance walked in his new uniform he picked up at the administration's office. He was so excited to meet more people that his age and had the same interest as him: space exploration. The guy who had been his best friend for years, Hunk Garrett, rolled his eyes next to him as they walk together. "Do I think you will be able to get any this year? No, no I do not."_

_"Oh, come on Hunk, have a little faith. I'm sure I'll get someone this year." The pair walked towards the courtyard, where the rest of the students were socializing with each other. One of the reasons Lance loved the Garrison was because of the diversity. Tall, short, black, white, tan, all different kinds of races and people were collected in a school just to learn about the area around them. Space. He would never forget the word that created his future life._

_"LINE UP, CADETS!" Commander Iverson's voice booms throughout the courtyard, causing everyone to terminate their conversations and execute exactly what he says. Hunk stands next to him, his arms parallel to his sides. Another person stood next to him, but he couldn't tell if they were a girl or boy. He'd find out later._

_Iverson started a huge speech about what the Galaxy Garrison was, what behavior is expected of them, you get the gist. Lance tries to stay focused, but his gaze kept fixating on the human beside him. All he could see is their black hair and bangs, which where probably camouflaging their eyes. He liked how their hair's texture looked; so soft that if a person ran their hands through it, they would think they're petting a kitten._

_Lance was so lost in a trance, that he never noticed that the little orientation was completed. Hunk shakes him by the shoulder and says, "Hey, he's talking to you."_

_"Who?" Lance questioned. His friend directs him with his eyes peers at the black-haired guy he was looking at before. The guy smirks and says, "You see something you like?"_

_Lance blushes and looks away, ashamed that he got caught staring. "N-no."_

_The guy gives him a smile and sticks out his hand. "Name's Keith, and you are?_

_Something gives him a feeling that he shouldn't shake Keith's hand. He seemed friendly- unlike your stereotypical emo teen- just wanting to make a friend. Something told Lance that there would be problems between them down the line, and he shouldn't start a friendship that would be destroyed in the end. But something about Keith's physical features, maybe it was his dark violet eyes, told him that he should trust him. Lance reaches out, shakes his hand and responds, "Lance."_

Before he went to bed, he walked up to the cryopod, and looked at Keith. He looked so peaceful, sleeping, his hair nearly masking his eyes, just as it was at the Garrison. Lance's face was still stricken with fatigue, as it had been since Keith became unconscious, but he still had enough energy to reach his hand on the glass and whisper, "Please come back to us. We need you-- I need you here." His palm transformed into a fist, and his forehead rested on the transparent screen. "Every day passes by, and I feel empty inside." Tears slide down his face and a rack of sobs shake through his body. "I just want to be yours." Keith faces moves a little bit, but he shows no sign of regaining consciousness.

"And you to be mine."

◈►

Lance wakes up three hours later; it seemed that sleep did not want to take him tonight. The other paladins and Coran were still asleep, none of them outside their room, but when he walked inside the cryopod room, he saw Hunk left a plate of food goo. But another thing he saw-- was Keith.

He was in a white jumpsuit-- similar to the one Lance wore when he got injured-- and sitting on the steps, shivering. His bangs were hanging over his face, and his breath was visible. Lance runs over to him, taking off his jacket while doing so, and draped it behind Keith's back, creating a blanket. "Hey, Keith are you okay?"

"S-so cold," he stammered, leaning into Lance to warm him up. Lance gives him a light hug, careful not to put any pressure on his injuries. Keith's head discovers a comfortable place in the crook of Lance's neck, and light snores escape his nose. Chuckles can be heard from Lance's chest. "He was asleep for over two days, and he's still tired." He places his head on top of Keith's, holding him closer than ever before.

He liked how close they were, and he knew this moment wouldn't last forever, so Lance took a photo with his brain, savouring the love and compassion between them.

◈►

A varga later, Keith wakes up. Lance is still holding him, humming a Spanish tune his mother used to sing to him before he went to sleep. He seems completely unaware that Keith is awake, his chin still perched upon his head. Keith peers up and says, "Lance?" His violet eyes connect with dark blue, searching for recognition. "Oh hey, you're up." Their noses are nearly touching, and both of their breaths are hitched.

Lance clears his throat. "You want some food?"

Keith begins to stand up, but Lance pushes him down softly to the floor. "No, stay. I got it." Lance untangles Keith from him, disappointed that his warmth had vanished, but strolls over to the floating plate of food goo. Keith notices Lance's jacket is draped on his shoulders, and slowly falling off. He places his arm through the arm holes, and smells the inside; which has Lance's scent.

As Keith gets used to wearing his jacket, Lance comes back and nearly dies of cuteness. A light pink blush encases Keith's face, and he smiles cheekily. Once again, Lance laughs, sitting down on the floor with his legs out.

Keith refuses to eat using his hand, which Lance doesn't mind. They both sit in front of each other, their legs bent and intertwined with each other. Lance feeds Keith the food goo, for which Keith happily replies with a 'hmm' or a smile. Once the plate's finished, Lance catches him up on what has happened the past two days.

He tries his best to not mention Shiro's name and keep a smile on his face, because Keith's laughs and grins were literally worth a million bucks to him. Lance was about to tell him what happened after they got into the castle when Keith said, "Lance?"

Lance inched closer, his feet parallel to Keith's sides. "What?" A captivating glow of luminescent blue flashed through his eyes, and made Keith feel even weaker.

"I'm sorry."

Lance put a soft smile on his face, unsure what was coming next. "For what?"

"For not listening to you when you were just trying to help. You were right; Voltron is my family, and I didn't have the right to think about leaving you guys, especially... after Shiro died." His eyes turn a bit glossy, but Keith instinctively scoots a bit closer to him. "And Lance?"

"Hmm?" He intertwined his left hand with Keith's right, his thumb brushing over Keith's knuckles.

"I am yours."

Lance didn't even hesitate to put their lips together. It was sort of as it was like destiny-- something that he was meant to do. His hand caressed the side of Keith's face, pushing hair behind his ear. Everything about that kiss was intimate-- the sensation, the delicacy with each other. Keith was surprisingly not shocked, even positioning his free hand behind the nape of Lance's neck, despite how much it hurt his arm.

They both broke apart, a bit breathless. The two paladins were still close each other, breaths fanning on their lover's face, and noses touching. Lance gives Keith a quick kiss, and his mouth converts into a smirk. "I guess this moment is meant to be remembered, huh?"

Keith murmurs to himself, "What do you mean this moment is..." Lance already lost his hold of his partner and bolted, making a mad dash to a safe location.

At that moment, realization hit Keith. Even in his infirmary clothes, Keith could sprint pretty fast. All the other individuals (probably no longer sleeping) could hear in the hallway was, "SO YOU DO REMEMBER YOU LITTLE-"


End file.
